Battling Time
by Angelfish10108
Summary: It's been nine years, and Squall and Rinoa are now married. But Rinoa contracts an unknown fatal disease, and only Ellone's gift can save her now. Will Squall win the fight against time? Or will Rinoa be lost forever?
1. Chapter One

*Disclaimer* I don't own Final Fantasy, the characters, the ideas, or anything that has to do with Final Fantasy.   
  
  
  
  
~*Dreams*~   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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~*"Mommy, can we go home now?"   
  
The little girl tugged on her mother's hand as she followed her through the town.   
  
"Not yet, sweetie." Her mother answered in a purr.   
  
The little girl looked down at her shoes; shiny black tap shoes. She wondered why her mother was getting her all dressed up, since she was wearing her best sky blue dress with the black sash.   
  
The mother pulled out a watch and glanced at it with a worried expression.   
  
"Mommy, what's wrong?" The little girl asked.   
  
The mother put the watch back into her pocket and picked up her pace. The little girl waited for an answer patiently, until she thought maybe her mother hadn't her her.   
  
"Mommy-"   
  
"Nothing's wrong, sweetie."   
  
The little girl fell silent. Her mother never snapped unless she was scared or worried. When she was angry, her voice got smooth and calm, which made it unbearable for the girl when she got into trouble.   
  
The mother led the little girl up to a large house, with guards at the street entrance.   
  
"Follow me, sweetie. And be quiet." The mother whispered, pushing a few strands of maple-blond hair out of her face.   
  
The little girl nodded and followed her mother through the hedges until they reached the entrance to the house.   
  
A car pulled up to the street entrance, and the door opened. The mother kissed her daughter on the forehead and hugged her close.   
  
"Stay here, sweetie. This is where your daddy lives, and he's going to take good care of you. Remember, they call him sir. I love you."   
  
Her mother let go of her, tears in ehr eyes, and hurried out of sight.   
  
The little girl wanted to follow her mother, but also didn't want to disobey her. The little girl looked up to see a man staring at her, as though she were an insect.   
  
"Sir, who's child is this?"   
  
Another man came over, with jet black hair that was so neat it looked fake.   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"You're sir?"   
  
The man nodded, but looked disgusted when the little girl spoke.   
  
"My name is Rinoa. You're my daddy."*~   
  
  
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Rinoa woke up with a start as her alarm rang loudly. She reached out and slammed it, wanting more sleep.   
  
In another room, a child was crying.   
  
A rough hand fell onto Rinoa's waist lazily, and she put her's over it.   
  
"I'm going to get the baby, Squall." She murmured, lifting the hand to her mouth and kissing the fingertips.   
  
Squall mumbled something she couldn't understand as Rinoa got out of bed. She pulled her bathrobe on over her thin nightgown and hurried into the next room, where a little girl sat clutching her pillow.   
  
"Hush..." Rinoa said softly, picking up the baby and rubbing it's back. "It's okay, Zoe. Mommy's here..."   
  
Rinoa hushed the little child, being sure she was taking extra care of her. She wanted to be a better parent than her father ever was.   
  
Zoe eventually fell back to sleep, and Rinoa put her back in the cradle.   
  
As Rinoa took off her bathrobe and hung it up, she felt strong arms slip around her waist and begin rocking her back and forth.   
  
"Squall...isn't it a bit early?" Rinoa murmured, putting a hand to Squall's cheek.   
  
Squall nibbled on her earlobe.   
  
"Not for me."   
  
Rinoa let out a purr and they went back to bed.   
  
  
******************************   
  
  
Rinoa got out of bed again almost three hours later. She let out a contented sigh as Zoe sang a song from the table.   
  
Squall came in, tying the drawstring on his black silk pants.   
  
"Smells good." He said, giving Rinoa a kiss, and bending over to kiss Zoe.   
  
Zoe stopped singing long enough to giggle, her innocent gray eyes sparkling.   
  
Rinoa set breakfast on the table as Squall did a magic trick for Zoe. They chattered about what to do when Laguna decided to finally retire.   
  
"I say we should throw him a huge party." Rinoa said, and shot a stern look at Zoe before she could launch eggs across the table. "He really does deserve it you know, working all those years for the country that enslaved him in the first place."   
  
Squall looked up from his newspaper.   
  
"Maybe we should throw him a party. A surprise party! You know how much he loves surprises."   
  
"A surprise party would be a good idea. Who would we invite, besides the whole gang?" Rinoa wiped Zoe's mouth, which was covered in frosting from a cinnamon roll.   
  
"Kiros and Ward, of course. And Matron, and Cid, and maybe even your f-"   
  
"No, he wouldn't have the time." Rinoa said hurriedly, putting down Zoe's spoon and giving her a bottle of milk. "I mean, he *is* in charge of Deling City now."   
  
"But he's your f-"   
  
"Squall." Rinoa said in a stern tone. "He doesn't have any time."   
  
Squall shrugged, and went back to reading his newspaper. An article caught his eye.   
  
"Hello, what's this? 'Dr. Selphie Tilbitt has just revealed her newest discovery: a way to teach magic naturally. The method of teaching magic begins while the child is from the stages of newborn to toddler. This particular method should tap into the natural power to use magic and magnify it naturally until the child is fluent in the use. Dr. Tilbitt refuses to give any more information until her press conference next week.' Isn't that something?"   
  
Rinoa nodded, and wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin.   
  
"Well, I promised Quistis I would help her with her furniture today. So, I have to get going. You can take care of Zoe, can't you?"   
  
Squall nodded, and Rinoa smiled.   
  
"Thanks, Hun." She said quickly, giving Squall a kiss on her way to the bedroom.   
  
Rinoa went through her closet, dismissing nearly every outfit she looked over. She finally decided on a casual pair of blue-jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt with the pattern of white wings on the back. Rinoa got dressed quickly, pulling on her black sneakers, and ran out the door.   
  
"I'll be home in a few hours! Bye Squall!" Rinoa called, grabbing her purse and the keys to the car.   
  
"Bye Rinoa!" Squall called, and heard the door shut.   
  
Squall turned to his little daughter.   
  
"So, Zoe. What do you want to do today?"   
  
Zoe made the motion of starting up an engine, and Squall smiled.   
  
"My thoughts exactly."   
  
  
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Squall let Zoe dress herself, and could hardly hold back a smile when Zoe came out of her room. She was dressed in an outfit not far from Squall's, only her jacket had a picture of a rose on the back of it and she wasn't wearing the gunblade belt.   
  
"Do you want to go with me to visit the asylum?" Squall asked Zoe.   
  
  
"Let's go then."   
  
Zoe ran after Squall out the door, and grabbed his keys from the counter. She handed them to Squall as she caught up with him down the hall, and giggled at the sheepish look on his face.   
  
Squall's sleek motorcycle gleamed in the sunlight, the bright red finish shining and the little gadgets sparkling as they caught the light.   
  
"Yay!" Zoe cried, pumping her fist into the air as she jumped high. "The motorcycle!"   
  
Squall chuckled as he clasped Zoe's helmet onto her head and lifted her into her seat, knowing she had seen Zell making that movement not long before.   
  
Zoe trembled with delight as Squall started up the engine and they zoomed off.   
  
  
******************************   
  
  
Rinoa collapsed onto an old couch, and sneezed when clouds of dust rose from the cushions.   
  
Quistis giggled, and brushed a few strands of golden-blond hair out of her face. Her aquamarine eyes glittered mishievously from her stern face.   
  
"I said a lot of this stuff was dirty. Come on, Rinoa. We have to get this downstairs before the truck comes."   
  
Rinoa sighed, rolling her eyes, and nodded.   
  
"Can I just do this quick? Open up the window over there."   
  
Quistis opened up a window, with some difficulty considering how it was stuck, and took a deep breath of the rfesh air coming into the stuffy attic.   
  
"I can't believe nobody's been up here for nearly twenty five years!" Quistis cried as Rinoa got up from the dusty couch and brushed herself off. "It's like a clue to my past, but all I know about my family now is that they liked vintage furniture!"   
  
Rinoa giggled as she raised her hand slightly from her waist in a graceful, effortless movement. The couch glittered golden for a moment before it raised up in the air and headed slowly towards the large, open window. Rinoa yawned as the couch began floating downwards, towards the sidewalk in front of Quistis' house.   
  
Quistis sighed, and plopped down onto a crate.   
  
"I wish I knew my family like you do, Rinoa. You're so lucky to know your father! And maybe even your mother, too."   
  
Rinoa lowered her gaze to Quistis' hunched figure, and wished she didn't know her father.   
  
"My father is a horrible man. I would consider myself lucky if I had never knew him..."   
  
Quistis heaved another sigh, and then lit up her face with a bright smile.   
  
"Look at us! Gloomy and feeling sorry for ourselves when there's work to be done! Let's hurry! You work on that chair, and I'll bring this crate downstairs...the old fashioned way."   
  
Quistis picked up the crate and headed off down the stairs. Rinoa watched her go before she levitated the sagging chair out the window, glad to be rid of the horrid thing. She sat down on a different crate and thought about her dream.   
  
The dream had seemed so real, especially how her father looked at her: as though she were an insolent insect. Every little detail seemed so realistic: how her mother looked poor, how Rinoa was so confused, how she looked up at her father with curiosity in her eyes, only to meet the coldness in his.   
  
"Rinoa?" Quistis looked at Rinoa from the staircase, a frown of concern on her face. "You look pale."   
  
Rinoa put her hand to her head, and the images of her watching her mother leave flashed through her head. Memories of waking up screaming for 'mommy' washed over her, and Rinoa suddenly felt dizzy.   
  
  
  
Rinoa felt behind her for support, and felt the cold metal edges of the crate. Quistis ran over to her, and Rinoa finally slumped over weakly as her world turned black.   
  
  
  
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	2. Chapter Two

*Disclaimer* Still don't own Final Fantasy, still not rich...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Squall arrived at the asylum: a big white building surrounded by tall chain link, barbed wire fences. There were windows, but they were all barred.  
  
Zoe remained silent, clutching Squall's hand and looking up with wide eyes at the strange building.  
  
A he-she nurse sat at the front desk, barking at helpers and sending security to a room at the end of the hall.  
  
"I'm the Sorceress' Knight! I have to help her defeat the SeeDs!" Someone screamed, followed by mad laughter.  
  
There was a sound, like a *ping*, and then silence.  
  
The he-she nurse at the front desk scowled at Squall, the thin moustache of dark hair above her lip quivering as she smelled out the strange scent coming from them.  
  
"Vat is wrong vith you?" She snapped, pointing at Squall and Zoe with a suspicious, hairy finger the size of a small baseball bat.  
  
Zoe stared up at the nurse innocently, her eyes dewy. The nurse huffed like a Rhino and sat down in a more relaxed position.  
  
"Vat do you vant?" She asked, shuffling papers around on her desktop and staring at Squall with beady black eyes.  
  
"We're here to see Seifer Almasy. Is he still in room four-ten?" Squall said in his soft voice, his face frozen in his old glare at the nurse.  
  
The nurse huffed again, and squinted at a computer screen.  
  
"Yes he is. Sign here." He/she grunted, and pushed a paper towards Squall with a hand easily the size of a trash can lid.  
  
Squall signed quickly in his flowing script, and Zoe scribbled her name, too. The nurse glared after them, her black eyes glinting, as Squall and Zoe went down the hall.  
  
"Was that a lady or a man, daddy?" Zoe asked, still clutching Squall's hand like a life preserver.  
  
Squall thought for a moment before he chuckled softly and smiled down at Zoe with twinkling eyes.  
  
"To tell you the truth, Zoe, I really don't know."  
  
  
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Rinoa looked up at Quistis with half open eyes as she was hoisted into the back of the ambulance. Her face was paler than it usually was, and one of the attendants was about to take a blood sample to check at the hospital.  
  
"Rinoa, can you hear me?" Quistis said in a panic, climbing into the back of the ambulance with Rinoa and the one of the attendants, holding her hand with a death grip.  
  
Rinoa nodded faintly.  
  
"Quistis...what's wrong with me?" Rinoa asked, her voice almost normal, but with a rasp to it.  
  
Quistis bit her lip and glanced at the attendant.  
  
"Mrs. Leonhart, we can't say what is wrong with you until we run some tests at the hospital. Just hold tight until then, ma'am." The attendant answered, taking out some blood from her arm.  
  
Rinoa closed her eyes and her grip on Quistis' hand got weaker.  
  
"Rinoa?" Quistis cried shrilly, clutching her hand.  
  
The attendant shushed her.  
  
"She's only passed out again. This must be serious."  
  
Quistis looked at Rinoa with concern clouding her eyes.  
  
"Rinoa...wake up..."  
  
  
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Squall sat on one side of the plain white room, watching Zoe kneel next to the huddled figure in the corner and put her hands on their arm gently.  
  
"Seifer..." Zoe whispered softly, placing her fingertips to the man's bare arm.  
  
Seifer opened his eyes slowly, and Squall watched with delight and disgust as Seifer hugged his daughter and the played little games with their hands. Zoe would make a shape with her hands, and Seifer would try to mimic it. They laughed when they got tied up and collapsed into a heap on the floor, laughing, until the nurse from the front came in.  
  
"Quiet!" She bellowed, her moustache quivering and flecks of saliva flying from her mouth.  
  
The door slammed shut, and Seifer stuck his thumb in his mouth.  
  
Squall was disgusted. This...man...was his age and was sitting there, looking with wide eyes at the door and sucking his thumb like a little child. Squall remembered talking to Edea, asking why Seifer was the way he was.  
  
*"But Matron, why does he act like he is my daughter's age?"  
  
Edea settled back into her chair, and looked out over the waves that crashed onto the shore. Her face was troubled, and already the wrinkles were beginning to show around her eyes. Edea was getting okld, despite how she had stayed like a twenty year old for so many years.  
  
"Squall...I don't know how to explain this." Edea stopped, and looked at her lap, where her hands lay folded.  
  
Cid put his hand on his wife's shoulder, and Edea looked at him . Cid nodded.  
  
"Squall..." Edea began, and reacehd out for Squall's hands. A faint smile played on her lips. "When you look back on your memories here, what do you feel?"  
  
Squall thought for a moment, and looked up with a small smirk.  
  
"I feel safe...I feel warm, because you were always so kind to us, Matron. I feel...loved." Squall said softly, and Edea's grip on his hands tightened.  
  
"Seifer feels the same way, Squall. After his world was broken, the world he had built on being my knight..." Edea's voice choked up for a moment, and she put a hand over her mouth as though to keep sobs from escaping. "His mind shattered with his world, and brought him back to the time when he felt the most secure, the most loved. Now...he feels safe. Everything seems new to him, Squall. Every time he opens up a door it will lead to a new adventure for him. You must be patient with him now, for he can't remember anything he has learned."  
  
Squall watched Matron's face intently as she broke into tears, burying her face in her hands.  
  
"I've gotten back the child I received." She sobbed. "But I've lost the man he grew to be."*  
  
Squall watched as Seifer and Zoe played another game: mirror. They tried to copy what the other did.  
  
"Zoe, we have to go soon." Squall called softly.  
  
Zoe looked up at her father in surprise, and let her hands fall into her lap limply.  
  
"But we just got here, daddy." She protested, her voice rising into a whine.  
  
Squall frowned at her, and she fell silent. Squall wasn't easily angered when it came to Zoe, but sometimes she needed a reminder of how good she had it.  
  
"Fifteen more minutes, Zoe." Squall said, and settled back in his chair.  
  
Squall pulled out a book and began reading, waiting until Zoe wasn't looking before he put on his glasses. In a fight before Zoe was born, Squall had been hit in the head in a near fatal blow. Selphie's medicinal skills had kept him alive, but his vision after that was weak. Most of the time he wore contacts, but when he was reading he wore thick glasses.  
  
Fifteen minutes passed quickly, with Squall reading and Zoe playing with Seifer. Squall looked at his watch and shut the book. Before Zoe could look at him, Squall tugged off the thick glasses and stuck them in his pocket.  
  
"Time to leave, Zoe. Seifer, we'll come back soon, okay?"  
  
Seifer nodded and, before Squall could react, wrapped his arms around Squall's waist and hugged him. Zoe giggled when Squall hugged him back awkwardly, and grabbed her father's hand.  
  
"Goodbye, Seify!" Zoe called as they left the room, waving.  
  
Seifer waved back, and the door shut, sealing him in his prison again.  
  
"Come back soon..."  
  
  
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Squall walked in the door, and Zoe ran off to her room to play. A small beeping and a tiny, flashing red light brought Squall's attention to the answering machine.  
  
Squall punched the button to play the messages and took off his jacket, picking up Zoe's from the floor, and hung them both up. A metallic voice announced he had one message.  
  
"Squall Leonhart, this is Doctor Shelby calling from Balamb Community Hospital." Squall looked up in surprise. Doctor Shelby was a professional in surgery, why would he be calling here? "Your wife has been delivered here by an ambulance, and is currently in one of our rooms. I suggest that you come here immediately, this is an emergency."  
  
Squall felt the blood drain from his face, and Zoe came into the room with a curious look on her face.  
  
"Daddy? Why isn't mommy home yet?" She asked.  
  
Squall didn't answer, but puleld their jackets from the hooks and tugged his on. He tossed Zoe's at her and she pulled it on with confusion.  
  
"Where are we going, daddy?" Zoe asked, hardly sticking her hand out of her sleeve before Squall grabbed it and pulled her towards the door.  
  
"I have to go out, Zoe. I'm goin gto see if Auntie Selphie can take you in for a little bit. You can play with Junior and the twins." Squall said, putting Zoe into her motorcycle seat and clipping on her helmet.  
  
Zoe nodded, and they roared off down the road, towards the Tilbitt household.  
  
  
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"Of course I'll hold onto her for a while, Squall." Selphie said, patting Zoe on the head as she entered the house. "The twins asleep, Zoe. They'll be awake in about half an hour, though."  
  
Junior, his real name Irvine but called Junior, appeared from behind a corner, a near replica of his father. He had the same brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and the same cocky smirk. But he had his mother's disposition. His eyes were a strange mix between blue and brown, swirls of color all over the place.  
  
"If I'm not back before nightfall, feel free to go to my house and get some things for her. I'll give you the key..." Squall reacehd into his pocket and handed the shining brass ket to Selphie, who put it on the high mantlepiece above the fireplace. "Thank you again, Selphie."  
  
Selphie smiled and tilted her head like she used to when they were younger.  
  
"No problem!" She chirped, and turned to see what Irvine and Zoe were doing.  
  
Irvine had died a few years before, leaving Selphie a widow with a son and pregnant with the twins. Selphie waited until after they were born before she changed back to her maiden name. The twins were identical little girls, exact copies of Selphie. They had the same flipped hair, the same puppy brown eyes, and the same sunny disposition as her. Irvine was hardly detectable in them, except for their tendancy to be a little smug at times.  
  
Selphie shut the door and turned to Zoe and Junior. Zoe was sitting in a big chair her mother sat in whenever they visited together, and just staring into space. Junior sat at her feet, staring up with a look of complete adoration.  
  
Selphie sighed, and leaned against a wall. She hoped Rinoa was alright.  
  
  
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Rinoa felt darkness around her, even before she opened ehr eyes. She knew she was dreaming, or something similar to it. She opened her eyes and found she was floating through blackness with silence so strong it was deafening.  
  
"Where am I?" Rinoa said, and heard her voice echo around the giant space.  
  
Rinoa looked around, and suddenly felt herself being thrown. It was as though somebody behind ehr had just pushed her, and she had fallen through glass. Rinoa tumbled downwards before she landed gently on her feet in a mysterious area.  
  
There was machinery all over the place: wires were jutting out of everything, cables ran the length of the room, a large ring of some sort of glassy metal was against a wall.  
  
Rinoa gasped. She remembered this place. This was the Sorceress Memorial. She looked up when she heard a sound and saw herself as a seventeen year old, being led by a pair of guards to the ring. They put shackles around her wrists, and around her ankles. The seventeen year old almost cried out as their grip on her tightened.  
  
The shackles began moving, pulling her hands with them. The young Rinoa's eyes widened as she flew into the ring, and her limbs were locked in place.  
  
Rinoa grimaced. She hated watching ehrself look so helpless. A speaker somewhere crackled to life and a message buzzed over it.  
  
"I apoligize for the roughness, Sorceress Rinoa. Our technology is still a bit primitive."  
  
Young Rinoa nodded once, and a jet of steam rose from one of the machines. A blanket of plastic material was pushed into the frame of the circle, and young Rinoa bowed her head, letting her limbs go limp.  
  
Rinoa went closer, and listened carefully. Underneath all of the hissing and pounding of th emachines around her, she could hear a faint sound. It was like a small child crying, only much softer. Rinoa realized, with mild disgust, that her younger self was crying. It was a tearless cry, more for the relief of letting out her feelings than showing them loudly.  
  
Rinoa looked up at the control room through the glass and saw the scientists in their white robes bending over controls and scribbling on papers. The scientists looked up in surprise and began shouting, but Rinoa couldn't hear the words. Her younger self continued to hang limply in her bonds, crying without tears. A scuffle broke out, and Rinoa saw the flash of a gunblade before the door to the room slammed open and Squall stood there amidst a small cloud of steam.  
  
Rinoa almost ran towards him and threw her arms around him. She rememebred the million and one reasons she first fell in love with him; among them his looks.  
  
Squall stood, one hip more forward than the other. His hand rested ont he hilt of his gunblade, and that silver ring flashed from his hand, almost matching the steely blue-gray of his eyes with its metallic hue. He still had his youth, so he was tall and well built; in perfect shape for his age. That dark chestnut hair of his fell around his face, and his eyes were shocked.  
  
"Rinoa..."  
  
Rinoa watched him come towards her, and wondered if he could see her.  
  
He went right through her.  
  
Rinoa almost went into shock, but spun around to continue watching. Squall puleld out his gunblade, and the metal sung as it left its prison. He swung it in the air, slicing apart the mighty machine in one swipe.  
  
Steam hissed from the machine, clouding it from Squall's view. But Rinoa could still see thorugh it. The bonds on her younger self's limbs loosened and broke, letting her fall in an almost twisted position. Squall reached out, and young Rinoa fell right into his arms, wrapping her own around him without even noticing.  
  
Rinoa turned away, and saw the faces of her friends in the window. They were gawking like idiots at a sign of emotion from Squall besides anger.  
  
"You came back..." Rinoa heard, and turned around.  
  
Irvine was behind her, smiling in a way that wasn't so much of a smirk. He flicked up his hat and held out his hands to her. The rest of the world faded away like running ink, and there was a flash of steel as Squall's intense eyes left last.  
  
"What's wrong, Rinoa? Don't you recognize me?" Irvine asked, and took a step towards her.  
  
Rinoa felt, and heard, a small thump in her chest. She put her hand to where her heart was with a gasp.  
  
"Irvine...you're dead." Rinoa spat out finally.  
  
Irvine took another step towards her, and Rinoa felt another thump in her chest. This time it was stronger, and so was the sound. It filled her ears, that continuous thumping of her pained heart.  
  
Rinoa clutched her heart and staggered, looking almost foolish. She became suddenly aware of the shoots of silver and white in her hair. Rinoa stagegred backwards, and the pain in her chest subsided.  
  
Irvine frowned, and those soulful eyes of his seemed to frown as well.  
  
"Rinoa, it's your time." Irvine said softly, and reached out to her with a curling, clawed hand.  
  
Rinoa began walking backwards. The hand seemed to go out to her still, even when she turned and began running. Suddenly she was in a tunnel, with spiralling black and white all around. She was so dizzy...so dizzy as she fell through the swirling colors and heard the mad laughter.  
  
"The Sorceress' Knight!""  
  
  
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End file.
